Ash's Homesickness
by Kekepikapika
Summary: Ash Ketchum has had many adventures in many different regions, made lifelong friends, and faced countless opponents to get where he is today. With that said, it never occurred to him that he may miss home way more than he thought. Here's a one-shot with Father/son-like fluff, no shipping!


**Ash's Homesickness**

 **Hi everyone! I recently started my freshman year in college and felt homesick not long after I settled in. I decided that it may be the perfect prompt for a fanfic, so I began to write this to help make myself feel better. Enjoy, and please review!**

 **P.S. Ash's Litten is female in this story until it's gender is revealed in the anime! And, I also don't think I'll ever include RotomDex in this fanfic. His character is hard for me to capture for some reason. But, if I do, I'll be trying my best to incorporate him in.**

 **I** **DO NOT** **OWN POKEMON**

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Ash wandered the beach silently, smiling at how cool the breeze felt against him. The sun had nearly set and he, along with Pikachu, Rockruff, and Litten, watched it as they walked the shore; while Rowlett slept in Ash's bag. "Wow." he exclaimed. "The sunset always looks better over the water, don't you think?" Ash looked to Pikachu, who had been riding on his hat.

"Piii-kaa." Pikachu agreed. He noticed that the sunset had always been so nice whenever the were on their way back to Professor Kukui's place.

"Rar-raf!" Rockruff wagged his tail. He loved the sun no matter where it was in the sky. The heat always relaxed him; the same for Litten.

"I don't remember having a view like this in Kalos, not in Unova either; not to mention Sinnoh, or Hoenn, that region was fun. I wonder how Max and May are doing... Remember Johto and the Orange Islands, Pikachu? I miss traveling on Lapras and watching the sunset there. And, I hardly saw the sunset over the water in..." Ash paused, it seemed hard to say the word. "...Kanto." He breathed, and, as if on cue, a light gust of wind hit them.

"Pika?" Pikachu looked around, wondering what could have caused the wind to pick up. He felt Ash lower his head, then moved down to his shoulder. "Pika pi?"

Ash sighed. "Do you ever... miss it, Pikachu?"

"Chuu...?" Pikachu merely blinked. What did he mean by that?

Ash directed his gazed towards him. "You know, like, our home? Or, Misty and Brock?"

"Pi-ka Pi-ka." He nodded. Pikachu missed them a lot. Just the same for everyone they've traveled with.

"Hmm..." Ash never found himself feeling like this, he didn't like it. It wasn't like him to suddenly become sad or depressed. He thought about Kanto before, many times, but had never felt this way.

Rockruff nuzzled his leg along with Litten, who did the same to the other. "Arr...?"

Ash knelt down to pet them. "I'm fine, you guys. Let's hurry home before it gets dark, okay?"

"Nyaow~" Litten agreed, happily. She was more than ready to get there.

Ash flashed them one of his signature goofy smiles, then stood said, "Alright, race ya!" He ran ahead scaring both Rowlett and Pikachu, who had fallen into the sand. They quickly recovered, but fell behind, barely catching up to Litten and Rockruff. Rockruff had taken off as soon as Ash spoke. Litten, on the other hand, didn't get it at first, but soon caught on. When everyone finally arrived at the front door, Ash unlocked it and called "Professor Kukui, we're home!" Ash put down his backpack and walked inside. He still felt strange, though. Even while running, he couldn't shake that feeling. Why did he suddenly miss home so much? Could it be that he's just now realized how far away he is? Or, how much fun he had with the friends he left behind?

Kukui walked in from the hall. Ash turned to face him. "Ash, there you are! Where've you been? It's later than usual-" Ash walked over to him pitifully and hugged him. Kukui stood awkwardly with his arms raised slightly. "Uh..? Heh, you okay there?" Ash shook his head. "What's the matter, then? Are you not feeling too good?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Ash shook his head again. "Well, don't puke on me. The trashcan is over there."

Ash buried his face into his lab coat, tensing up a little. "I won't..." Ash sniffled. "I-I... I d-don't feel bad, but-"

"Pika pi?" Pikachu sat at his trainer's feet. Rockruff, Litten, and Rowlett were also there, wondering what was going on.

"Hey now," Kukui wrapped his arms around him. "This isn't like you, did something happen?" Ash nodded this time. "Care to tell me what?"

There was a brief pause before he spoke. "I miss Kanto..." Ash felt Kukui let go, then allowed him to take his hand and lead him to the couch. Ash sat down and sobbed for a bit until he was ready to speak again. Kukui sat next to him and waited patiently, noticing that Ash hadn't yet released his hand. The pokemon had followed them, also watching and waiting. He finally sighed after about ten minutes, or so. Ash had finished crying and leaned against him.

Professor Kukui spoke quietly. "Are you ready to talk about it?" Ash stared wearily at the floor, giving him a small nod. "Well, what is it that you miss most about Kanto?"

Ash thought about it for a while. "I miss my mom and my room." He rubbed his eyes, which had now turned to a light shade of pink. "A-and I miss my pokemon at Professor Oak's Lab,... and my friends, Misty and Brock."

Kukui listened to him calmly. "And, what is it that you miss most about them?" He asked.

"Mom always tucked me in at night and gave me a hug or kiss in the morning. I don't see her much now, because I'm normally away." Ash released a shaky sigh. "She doesn't seem to miss me, though..."

"Of course she does. Your mother misses you very much, but she also knows how much you love to travel. She probably thinks about you every day." Kukui laughed. "Your mom even threaten me if something happened to you in my care."

"Really?" Ash looked up for the first in a while. "She said that?"

"Yeah, she did." Kukui reached over to the side table and grabbed a box of tissues, offering it to Ash. "Mr. Mime did, too. And, I don't think I want to know how strong her "Mimey" is.

"Yeah, Mr. Mime is really strong." Ash took second to blow his nose. "But, my pokemon are strong, too."

"Oh, yeah?" Kukui teased as he placed the tissue box on the couch cushion.

"Yeah, whenever I leave to go to a different region, I let my pokemon stay with Professor Oak." Ash smiled.

"All of them?" Kukui made a gesture towards Pikachu.

Pikachu tilted his head in confusion. "Pika?"

"Oh, yeah. Pikachu was my starter pokemon, because I was late the morning I went to get one." Pikachu jumped into Ash's lap and nuzzled against his chest. "Pikachu's been with me since the beginning. Why wouldn't I bring him along?"

"Nyow nyow?" Litten propped herself up against the arm of the chair. She wanted to sit with Ash, too.

"Okay, Litten." Ash said, patting the cushion next him. "You can sit right here. You, too, Rockruff."

"Arf-rarf!" Rockruff jumped up there along with her, but they both began to bicker not long after. Litten began to hiss at him and Ash scolded them before things got worse.

Kukui laughed. "I think those two need to spend more time together."

"Maybe, they do?" Ash giggled before petting them both. "You'll soon become good friends."

"Like you and Pikachu?" He pet Pikachu. "You two are the best of friends."

"Yeah, and like all my other pokemon. Well some didn't like me at first." Ash sat back and sighed tiredly. "I just hope Bulbasaur and Professor Oak aren't having a hard time keeping the peace between everyone. My pokemon still don't always get along as well you'd think."

"I believe that's normal for both people and pokemon, Ash, but we all find ways to settle our differences." Kukui noticed that Ash began to tire.

"I guess that's true..." He yawned. "Hey, Professor...?"

"Yes, Ash?" Kukui gave him a knowing look.

"I'm tired..."

The Professor laughed softly, "I can see that. Are you ready to go to bed?" Ash nodded sleepily. They both stood and Ash released his hand, then hugged him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Kukui gave him a light squeeze in return. "I'm free to talk anytime whenever you need me. Just remember that, okay?"

"Okay." Ash finally let go of him. "Goodnight, Professor." He gave a short wave, then walked off to get ready for bed.

"Goodnight, Ash."

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 **Alright, that's the end of this fic. I hope you enjoyed, and remember, I'm always looking for reviews. Also, I honestly just love the fact that Ash has some sort of father figure now; it gives me plenty of ideas for fanfics like this, so please me know if you want to see more!**


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